Rotary Actuators

Woodward MPC has manufactured rotary actuators for a variety of aerospace applications since 1962. During this period, every effort has been made to supply the highest quality product. Sustaining ever-increasing demands for high performance rotary actuators requires vigilant attention to technical advances in materials and processes. Woodward MPC has developed an array of standard motor and gearhead modules, incorporating the best materials available for both high performance and environmental resistance. Woodward MPC has extended its process to the manufacture of unique actuator requirements for flight controls, precision electro-optical positioning, radar antenna drives, and other high reliability applications. In its most simple form, a rotary actuator consists of a motor with a speed reducer. Woodward MPC manufactures AC and DC motors which can be fabricated to the exact voltage, frequency, power, and performance specified. We match the speed reducer ratio to the speed, torque and acceleration required. Life, duty-cycle, limit load and accuracy are considerations which further define the selection of the speed reducer. Hardened, precision spur gears are supported by anti-friction bearings as a standard practice in these speed reducers. Compound gear reduction is accomplished in compact, multiple-load path configurations, as well as in planetary forms. Woodward MPC rotary actuators can incorporate a variety of auxiliary components such as brakes, clutches, anti-backlash gears, and/or special seals. Redundant schemes involving velocity or torque summing of two or more motors can also be employed. Woodward MPC position and velocity transducers are available for discrete actuator-control requirements and can be easily integrated.